The drop was led by Goldman Sachs ( GS) which reported that 2010 earnings fell 61% from a record-breaking 2009 as trading activity slowed. Goldman's stock fell $5.08 to $169.63.

State Street Corp. ( STT) stock plummeted $2.00 to $48.06 after releasing earnings that topped analysts' expectations by a penny, but reported a profit decline in the fourth quarter due to a "repositioning" of its portfolio. American Express ( AXP) stock also dropped $1.45 to $44.94 after the company announced it would record a $113 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter as a result of a restructuring that would cost 550 employees their jobs.

U.S. Bancorp ( USB) shares fell 94 cents to $26.37 after announcing fourth quarter earnings. The bank beat analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter of 2010 with net income of $974 million, or 49 cents per share, and total net revenue of $4.7 billion. Analysts' consensus was that the bank would report a profit of 46 cents a share on $4.52 billion in revenue.

Citigroup ( C) stock struggled to stay in the positive Wednesday after announcing CEO Vikram Pandit promoted John Havens to president and chief operating officer in an effort to align executive responsibilities with Citi's restructured business lines. The stock was down two cents at $4.78.

The winner of the day was Deutsche Bank ( DB) which reported that its acquisition of Postbank will post slightly positive pretax profit in the fourth quarter. The bank's profit will take a writedown of about $134 million, according to Reuters. The bank's stock was up 20 cents at $58.41.